The present invention relates in general to engine or vehicle sensors and in particular to engine or vehicle sensors or actuators having electronic and computational capabilities, which may allow them to measure, calculate, communicate or respond based on previously collected operational or functional data in combination with the ability to detect if an engine is running or not at a certain moment in time.
Today's automobiles and similar vehicles typically include highly sophisticated and complex systems and rely on control systems that receive input signals from a variety of sensing devices. Automobiles and similar vehicles powered by internal combustion engines depend on lubricating fluids such as oil or synthetic lubricants for lubricating moving components of the engine and to help maintain the engine at a proper operating temperature. Oil refining and formulation itself has become a complex process to ensure that internal combustion engines are properly lubricated and cooled during operation while taking into account environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, etc. It is well known that oil quality varies and that over time the level of oil within an engine may be reduced due to leaks and/or oil combustion and that the performance characteristics or condition of the oil deteriorates or degrades. Consequently, numerous types of electronic sensors and sensor assemblies have been developed to monitor and/or detect oil level, oil temperature, and oil condition, for example.
The condition of lubricant such as oil in the sump of an internal combustion engine is an important factor in determining whether fresh oil needs to be added to a system or changed outright. Some algorithms or methods for making oil add/change decisions or notifying a driver of a catastrophic oil loss may depend on an ignition signal to determine whether the engine is running or shutdown. Ignition signals may not necessarily indicate whether the engine is actually running or shutdown. For instance, an ignition switch may be in the accessory position or in the on-position but not fully turned to crank the engine, which may falsely signal to an algorithm that the engine is running. A sensor system programmed to assume an engine running condition when the ignition is in the on-position may adversely affect oil condition algorithms, which may lead to a premature oil change. A false assumption of engine running may also lead to a false indication to a driver of catastrophic oil loss condition or may cause a faulty analysis of the operating characteristics of the oil, for example.
In view of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a sensor assembly and techniques for accurately detecting whether an automobile's engine is running or shutdown, notwithstanding the position of the automobile's ignition switch in order to more accurately determine oil quality, catastrophic oil loss, oil change and oil change reset conditions as well as other operational parameters associated with a vehicle.